Sheep-shearing machine



Aprilr 27 1926.

w. s. wHlTcoMB SHEEP SHEARING MACHINE Filed Septy 3, 1921 w m m Patented Apr. .27, 19.2.6).

'NT oFFlcE.

l WINFRED S. WHITCOMB, OF LARAMIEQWYOMING.

SHEEr-SHEARIN'G MACHINE.

Application led September 3, 1921. Serial No. 498,382.'

, To all whom t concern.'

,Be it known that I, WINFRED S. WHIT- coMn, a citizen of the United States,'resid ing at Laramie, in the county and State ofy Wyoming, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sheep- Shearing Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be av full, clear, and exact description of the saine, such as will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying. drawings, 4which form a part of this specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a lcomparatively simple,` cheap and efficient sheep shearing machine which is power driven and wherein substantially all vibration is eliminated.

This object is accomplished by meansof rotary parts, the cutter being rotated b means of a rotary pressing block whic urges the cutter against a comb and is itself driven from a suitable drive shaft. The cutter fingers are preferably sharpened on both edges to assist the cutting operation at the rear edge of a finger when the wool is crowded against it and between the teeth of the comb by the followin finger. The device is so constructed that flic chief operating parts may be readily removed, and a door is provided for access to the operating arts. p In the drawings, wherein vone embodiment of the invention is disclosed:

Fig. 1 is a central longitudinal section through the device; as indicated by .line 1-1 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan of the cutter;

Fig. 4 is a cross section talen on line 4-4 of F1g., 1; A

Fi 5 is an enlarged sectional detail on the p ane of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a plan of a modified form of cutter.v

The \machine comprises a casing 10 having a hollow handle 12 and an internal partitioning wall 14 in which a bearing 15 is mounted -for a drive 16 which extends' through the handle. A stud wheel is car ried on the end of the shaft 16 as indicated at 18 and its driving position is 'determined 4by means of bearingsv 20 to insure ositive engagement with a gear wheel 22 in t ef-fo'rm of a driving block having a flared exten'sion of Albany 24 below the gear teeth. The block 22 bears upon the cutter 25 and the extension 24 -thereof engages the cutting fingers 125 of the cutter and insures their proper cooperation with the comb 28, and its teeth 30.

The block 22 and the cutter 25 are rotatable upon a two-part shaft 130 having a A left-hand threaded joint 32 within the block cutting'fingers 125 at the rear, thus leaving a substantially annular bearing face 35 for the cutter 25, which is flush with faces ofthe teeth ofthe comb. At the sides of the comb the up-standing face widens out toward the casing and the wall a thus formed on each side is at such an angle that the bases of the cutting lingers 125 will ride up on the elevation rst and the tips thereof will follow, the tips of said lingers leaving the elevation on the opposite side first and the bases thereof last. This construction takes unnecessary strain from the cutting fingers.

Y Ball bearings'36 are provided in the block 22 for engagement with the shaft 130 and lthese are retained by means of a plate 38 having a depending flange 39 entering a recess in the block for maintaining the balls in position when the parts are removed. Immediately above the driving block 22 is a bearing block 40 against whlch ajension nut 42 engages, the latter being threaded on the upper part of shaft 130 and held in adj usted position by a spring detent 43. Block has its stem provided with 'a vertically elongated slot'44 for receiving a positioning pin 45 which passes through the upper shaft portion 130 and is anchored inthe side walls of casing l0. Shaft 45 prevents the upper shaft portion from rotatlng and the slot 44 permits the necessar vertical movement of block 40 during a justment. A plate 46 is disposed between the two blocks 22 and 40 and has an outer tioning iange`48 seated in a groove in the block 22, and an inner iipstanding flange is expanded' into a cavityi-t52 inthe block 40 the upper annular posias indicated at 50i-for retaining plate 46 on ing parts.

' vent springing at the shearing line.

' grinding.

block 40 when the various parts are removed from lthe machine. n into the plate 46 and fit in corresponding depressions in the block 22 as indicated at 54 for the purpose of receiving balls 55.y

Thus when the block 22 is removed, balls 55 are held against block 40 in the ball races thereof.

When in operative condition, the moving parts are enclosed by means of a door 56 which may be hinged to the casing 10 at one side as at 58 and provided with a suitable latch at the other side as at 60. This door terminates closely adjacent the ends of the cutting lingers so and the ends of the comb teeth may pro]ect beyond the door, while the door itself acts asa guard to keep At the same time the annular extension 24 on the driving block 22 overhangs the spaces between the bases of the cutting fingers allowing the wool to be wedged thereinto for shearing without permitting it to work up into the driving mechanism. The advancing edge of each cutting finger 125 is tapered off to a knife edge as indicated at 62 and the trailing edge is also ta ered off to a knife edge as seen'at 64. In this manner the trailing edge assists in the shearing operation 'when the advancing edge crowds the wool thereagainst and into the end of the space between adjacent comb teeth. The Wool is permitted to clear from the machine by reason of the taper at the ends of the cutting fingers, the minimum amount of such taper`which will be eective being seen in the form of Fig. 3 and the maximum being seen in j lwherein the cutting teeth will still be sufficiently reinforced by the block 22 to glte pitch of the cutting edge of `'each finger is such as to prevent pushing of the wool away from the-cutting point and to insure shearing; the line of this edge is tangenital to a circle concentric with the axis o the cutter and having a radius about two-fifths of that of the cutter.

The cutter is provided with an aperture -66 to receive the driving pin 26 on the block 22.

By unscrewing and removing thelower section of the shaft 130 and the positioning screws 34, -the comb 28 may be removed. The cutter 25 will then drop oif of the driving pin 26 and it may be removed for re- If desired the gear block 22 may be removed also. If'the device is inverted when the comb 28 is removed and the cutter is lifted from block 22, the latter need not be disturbed.

From the foregoing it have provided a rotary lshearing or clipping machine which is positive in its operation and by reason of its rotary movement almost Ball races are pressed" that the tips .thereof the wool out of the driv-v the form, of Fig. 6-

will be seen that. Iv

entirely eliminates vibration. This permits high speed with prolonged life of the machine and materially relieves the operator. Atl the saine time the present construction decreases friction to such a great extent that heatino` up of the device and actual blistering ofP the operators hands which occurs with other types 4of machines, is avoided. The door 56 serves as a guard and prevents the sheared wool from working into the machine and clogging the same.

I claim:

l. A shearing machine comprising a comb, a rotary cutter having projecting v cutting fingers to cooperate with the comb, and a block engaging the cutter and having an overlianging portion to engage the base portions of the cutting fingers.

2. A shearing machine comprising a casing, a two-piece shaft therein having a removable portion, a cutter rotatable on said removable shaft portion, a comb cooperatin therewith, a driving block engaging said cutter, and tensioning means on a fixed portion of said shaft engaging said block.

3. In a shearing machine, a casing, a twopart shaft having its upper and lower ends mounted in the casing, the lower part of the shaft being removable from the up er part and from `the casing, a comb carriedp in the lower part of the casing, a cutter engaging the comb and rotatable -upon Vthe lower part of the shaft and removable from the easing when said lower part of the shaft is part shaft having its upper and lower ends mounted in the casing, fixed in the casing and the lower part being removable from the upper part and from the casing, a comb in the lower part of the casing, a cutter engaging the comb and rotatable upon the llower part of the shaft, a driving block en aging the cutter, non-rotatable means sli able upon the upper part of the shaft and engaging the driving block, and tensioning means engaging the slidable means for urging the cutter into engagement withthe comb.

5. In a shearing machine, a comb, a cut.- ter rotatable on the comb, a driving block engaging'the cutter, means for urgingthe driving block into engagement with the cutter -and the cutter into engagement ,with the comb as the cutter and comb wear, a gear on said block whose teeth extend perpendicularly to the axis of rotation, and a driving gear whose teeth extend parallel to its axis and engage the gear teeth on said block, whereby disenga ement due fto movement of the block in ta ing up wear is pre' vented.

6. In a shearing machine, a casing, a shaft the upper part being having its upper and lower ends mounted pinrextending through said shaft to preventin said casing,a comb within the casing and rotation thereof 'and of said engagementabout the shaft, a cutterengaging the comb, maintaining means. 10

means for driving the cutter, means for In -testimonyw whereof 1I afix my signa- 5 maintaining engagement ofA the cutter with4 ture-- the comb, both of said means and said cutter being mounted on saidshaft, and a cross lWINFRED S. WHITCOMB. 

